Basking in boredom

Boredom can make us do all kinds of weird things.

If you’re a capuchin monkey, it leads to kidnapping the infants of other monkey species. If you’re a US Senate staffer, it means you book a high profile room and engage in acts that mean you have to flee to Australia. And if you’re Donald Trump, starting trade wars is apparently a natural reaction to the tedium of the job.

Really, there should be no reason to be bored. We’re flooded with stimuli, consumed by content, and have ample options for such new experiences as ‘not ruining the global economy’.

Boredom is seen as something to be avoided, a gateway drug for mischief like starting an OnlyFans account with the username “Senate Twink Official”.

But a light touch of listlessness may actually be good for us, counterbalancing the overstimulation of the modern world. 

There’s evidence that boredom can develop independence in thinking and spark creative moments, a fact that’s been proven by science and backed by Oprah, which is basically the same thing. 

There’s even a hankering for boredom as a lifestyle choice, with the dull German city of Bielefeld now presented as a welcome counterbalance to the uncertainty and division sweeping the country.

To tap into the latency of languor requires a cultural shift, a move away from the temptation of filling every moment with something (usually something on a screen) and an acceptance that tedium isn’t the enemy. 

It may lead us to new and exciting ideas and experiences. Or to room Hart 216, global notoriety, and a determination to “make bank off this name”.  Either way, it won’t be boring.